


Really Crappy Raiders

by izallen38



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Alternate Universe, Humor, Other, Violence, cursing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-17
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:37:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/izallen38/pseuds/izallen38
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of six Guardians, and their adventures through a world that has been consumed by the darkness. From dangerous missions, to drinking in the bar. What could the next day have in store?<br/>This is my first fanfic, and began as practice until a few friends told me they thought it was good, so please review this, all feedback is appreciated!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I woke up in the my living quarters, still sore from my excursion the day before. Me and one of the other guardians, a warlock we all call Muffin (heh, ‘nother story, ‘nother time), decided that training in the crucible would be fun, and damn were we wrong. Our team called me ‘Scalper’, and I’d tell you the story, but none of us can seem to remember where that started.  
Lord Shaxx had decided it was Titan training day, so naturally a warlock and a hunter didn't quite fit the balance. We spent six hours being humiliated by the overpowered, yet slow and seemingly unintelligent class that filled most training grounds.  
But that was yesterday, and today our friend Benny, also known as B-Dog, yet another titian, asked us to meet him in the Tower Watch. So, I dressed, donned my cloak, and headed off to our meeting area. It was a short walk, the living quarters were a part of the Tower North so I saw the speaker on my walk. The Speaker seemed very busy busy today, what with new guardians joining the fight against darkness everyday, the crowd was at least six rows deep.  
After exiting the hallway that connected the Tower North to the Tower Watch, I caught sight of B-Dog, leaning on the railing that overlooked the city, and standing next to him was both Muffin and Chungus (Chungus was a fellow hunter). As I made my way over to him, I caught sight of a titian making his way towards the group, and it took me a moment to recognize him, but when I did I couldn't help but to stifle a laugh.  
It was another of our comrades, Elskin, it seemed his chest armour was damaged yesterday during training and he had to pick up novice gear whilst his was repaired. He and I both arrived at the railing at the same time.  
“So, Benny, what the hell did you need to see us so bad for?” I asked, curious as to why he had called so many of us together, since we normally worked in three man teams.  
“Just wait til’ Mike gets here, then I’ll explain,” He replied, looking impatient, most likely since the two that arrived before me had asked the same question.  
We sat in silence for a few minutes, Benny leaning on the railing with their backs to the city, me sitting facing the same direction, and Elskin pacing back and forth in front of us. It wasn’t long until Elskin voiced his irritability.  
“Holy shit! What on earth could he be doing?!” He yelled to no one in particular, and just as he spoke, almost as if planned, a warlock came walking out of the hanger, headed toward the group.  
“Ha, you know where he was!” Benny said as he chuckled, as Mike had been spending a lot of time with a female guardian he had met named Anna.  
“Sorry guys, I was… Uh… Talking with the Dead Orbit vendor…” Mike trailed off, trying to hide his obvious embarrassment.  
“Alright, before you give loverboy shit, I’m gonna tell you why we’re all here,” Benny began, “The day before last The Speaker came to my quarters, and asked me to get a team tog-”  
“He came to your quarters! Damn, this must be big!” Chungus interrupted, sounding excited.  
“Yeah, that or we’re being sent on another patrol to Mars,” Elskin retorted sarcastically.  
“Oh, shut the hell up, Elly! He wouldn’t have gone to Benny’s quarters for just that! Unless Benny's been doing other assignments for him!” I said, shooting Ben a wink.  
“Would y’all shut up so he can finish!” Muffin yelled, seeming irritated.  
“Thank you, Muffin. Anyway, as I was saying-” Benny started, before being cut off yet again.  
“We all know he’s excited to get back to the Speaker, or is he the Moaner when he’s with you?” Muffin said, causing everyone to roar with laughter.  
The joking continued for nearly ten minutes, while Benny waited and stared at the sky, leaning back on the railing. Eventually everyone realized that he still hadn’t explained why they were all summoned, and started pestering him to finish his explanation.  
“Alright, as I was saying, the Speaker has a special mission for me and wanted me to get a group together for it.” Benny started, “Instead of the usual three man team, he wants a six man for this, so we need to be ready for anything. Our mission is to investigate something called the ‘Vault of Glass”, it’s on Venus, and we’re to leave immediately. So, gather your gear, and meet me in orbit. We’ll head out as a team. Meet up in twenty?”  
“Roger,” We all muttered, nearly in unison. I sure as hell wasn’t excited for this, I had actually planned a nice relaxing day, but nevertheless, I joined the others on the walk back to the quarters. It was quite as we all contemplated what this mission could have in store. Muffin broke the silence, saying what most of us were thinking.  
“Y’all, this could be really bad, I mean, six man teams are totally fucking unheard of…” Muffin said, sounding nearly worried. No one said anything for a while as we thought over his words, that is until Chungus tried to lighten the mood.  
“Don’t worry, Chungus gots this, you can even hop in my backpack if you wanna hide!” He said as he laughed, trying hard to be carefree.  
“Hey, Chung, shut the fuck up. This is serious, and for the love of God, stop with the third person shit!” Elskin yelled, sparking an argument that lasted the whole rest of the walk to the our quarters.  
I tuned them out, mostly due to the high anxiety I was feeling about the mission. I tried thinking about anything to clear my mind, but I couldn’t get the thoughts out of my head. The only good thing that came from this was that my worries made time feel as though it was passing faster. Before I knew it I was at my door.  
I entered my room and thought about what I may need for the journey ahead. After a few seconds of contemplation, I decided to take my usual loadout; A hand cannon called ‘The Last Word’ I found in an old research lab that the Hive had infested, a shotgun I earned through crucible training called ‘Two to the Morgue’, and a rocket launcher that I had personally upgraded in my free time that had no name. Along with all of that, I also took a few ammo synthesis from my stock, and a pack of cigarettes.  
As soon as my smokes were secure in my hip pouch, I summoned my Ghost and had him teleport me to my ship, the Thirty-eight. I shuddered once I rematerialized, and pulled out my smokes and lit one up. I blew smoke out as I turned on my ship to ship radio and entered our private team channel.  
“This is Scalper, locked and loaded, ready to hit damn road.”  
“Copy that, Scalper. All accounted for, sending the coordinates now.” Benny replied, “Here’s the plan, once we’ve arrived at the destination, I’m going to take my ship down to one fifty meters above the surface and have my Ghost do a scan of whats down there, so we don’t go in totally blind. Any problems with that?”  
Before any of us could reply, he had already departed at near light speed, leaving us no choice but to go along with his plan, but not without complaint.  
“Who died and put him in charge?” Muffin asked over the radio.  
“Fuck if I know man, but I guess we don’t get a choice in this shit.” I replied as I exhaled a cloud of smoke into the cockpit. “But what’re ya gonna do. All we can do is smoke ‘em while we got ‘em.” I said, using the centuries old saying.  
“You’re goddamn right,” He replied, and launched, immediately disappearing from sight. I followed behind him, albeit slower, as I wanted time to enjoy what could very well be my last cigarette.  
When my ship jolted to it’s stop, I was just putting out my smoke, and looking out the windows to see who had arrived before me. I counted five ships and wondered what could be keeping the straggler so long, since I took my time getting there, before I noticed that the only ship missing was Benny's, with it’s giant refrigerator looking engines. Then I remembered his plan.  
We all waited quietly, I assumed that Muffin and Chungus were praying, while Elskin, Mike and I were sitting, wondering what the hell could be waiting for us down there. After a few minutes, B-Dog returned and broadcasted his report to us.  
“Alright, so it looks like there are three sync plates down there, and that means that they probably need to be consistently activated at the same time. Or something totally different, and we’re all gonna die, so lets just fucking go.”  
“That’s all you have? Just a maybe? That’s bullshit!” Elskin yelled.  
“Well, if you wanna fly down into enemy territory, within sniper range and do better be my guest!” Benny retorted.  
“Whatever, lets just go…” Elskin said, still sounding angry.  
“Transporting to surface,” Chungus said, sounding giddy, and we all followed suite.  
Before I left my ship, I took a deep breath to steady myself. It only took a second before the bone chilling feeling of de- and re-materialization came over my body, and the squishy surface of the planet Venus beneath my feet.  
I made sure my armour was secure before drawing my hand cannon. Weapon out, I walked over to B-Dog and the others. He had drawn a diagram in in the mud of the plates, and it seemed that there was no direct line of sight between plates.  
B-Dog was crouched as he looked up at us, telling us what positions we would take, Muffin and I on the right, he and Chungus in the middle and Elskin and Mike on the left.  
“Guys, seriously, be careful. I have no idea what we’re going to be up against. Don’t get cocky.” B-Dog stated, “Now, lets go kick some ass!”  
We all responded with ‘hell yeah’s and ‘damn right’s, and set out to the begin our assault on the Vault of Glass. We all activated our jump modifiers, mine allowing me to jump three times, called Triple Jump, Muffin’s allowing him to glide, and lift him up into the air, called Glide. We were about one hundred feet from our starting position when B-Dog’s voice came over the helmet radio, telling us to turn to the team voice channel.  
“So, are there going to be any enemies?” Chungus said, still giddy.  
“Since they’re using sync plates, I’m assuming they’re Vex, which means we probably won't see them until the sync plates are activated. So lets hurry and get this over with,” I responded, trying to sound confident.  
We were all to on edge to talk the rest of the way, and as we reached our plates, B-Dog counted us down and we stepped in, and immediately the black, lightning filled clouds that signaled the Vex teleporting appeared all around us.  
“Contact!” Someone yelled, I couldn’t decipher the voice past my own nerves. I couldn’t understand what I was so worried about, but there was a feeling I couldn’t shake. I couldn’t let that affect my fighting ability, or someone could die because of me.  
The first of the Vex dropped in front of us, Goblins and Hobgoblins, four of each. I fired, hitting in their glowing midsection, they dropped to the ground immediately, and my fourth shot took the head off of one, which proceeded to bull-rush directly for me. Muffin took four out right away with his pulse rifle, just as a large, heavily shielded Minotaur dropped behind them. I gunned down the final Goblin just as the first of the Minotaur’s blasts exploded six feet in front of me.  
Muffin and I reacted in nearly the same way, holstering our primaries, we drew our shotguns, and charged, two shots took down the giant Minotaur's shields, and he stomped the ground with enough force to send Muffin and I flying through the air, six feet backwards and onto our backs.  
“Watch the big ones, they’re tougher than regular Minotaurs, don’t get close, take them at midrange!” I yelled, as I got up dropping my shotgun and pulling out my ‘Last Word’. I reloaded the eight round chamber and fired, after seven shots the goliath dropped to the ground, and I put one more round in him for safety. I took little notice to the lack of response from my allies.  
I looked over to see Muffin to see him on his feet, ready for the next round. The waves continued as the first, with the occasional Harpies, and all but the Minotaur were dispatched with ease. It took nearly full clips from both of our guns to take him down, and on the final, I missed a few shots, so I had to resort to using one of my tripmines. I threw it at him and it stuck to his gun arm. upon detonation, his body was launched to the middle of the area, near the area that we materialized in, where I noticed the Spire that been forming in the middle of the clearing, with a beam of light connecting it to the giant Vex door.  
One final wave marked the end of our first battle, and nothing went amiss. The Vex stopped dropping in, and the door opened with a series of loud clinking sounds, and which Muffin and I both rushed towards.  
“Is everyone alright?” I yelled into my radio, I got no response. I was getting worried.  
It was a short run, and in seconds we arrived at the door, where I saw all four of the others standing, and it looked as though they were conversing, but I couldn’t hear a thing through my helmet radio, but I was relieved that everyone was fine.  
“What the fuck is up with your radios!” I yelled upon reaching the group. “I was worried as shit!”  
“Yours is off dumbass,” Elskin laughed, his voice sounded muffled.  
“Yeah, you had me worried too,” B-Dog yelled, “Why’s your helmet being butts?”  
“Probably when that Minotaur launched us on our asses, fuckin piles of junk…” I said, summoning my Ghost to do as scan and fix my helmet, and when that was finished, I turned on the radio, and could finally hear the others clearly. B-Dog and Mike were talking, Muffin singing, and Chungus and Elskin arguing. I sighed, and a shook my head.  
“Okay guys, is everyone ready to go, ‘cause I’m going on, with or without you…” I said as I walked through the giant door and down the dirt path. On, the walk I decided to have my Ghost scan the air for oxygen levels and toxins, and when it reported that it had found none, I decided to take off my helmet so I could smoke.  
The first thing I noticed when I took off my helmet was how cold it was, it felt like winter in the Cosmodrome. The second thing I noticed was how still the air was, even though the door was open, there was no breeze, no movement in it at all. It felt as though I was trespassing upon some sacred ground, which I probably was. The only thing I could think of were the ghost stories where the spirits of the dead stay to guard the sacred grounds that their corporeal forms rested in, but this wasn’t a ghost story, and the Vex are just machines, so whatever they had as a guardian, was definitely real.  
The others were quick to follow me as that feeling of dread set in again, But there was nowhere to go but down. Down into the Vault of Glass.

End of Chapter 1


	2. Chatper 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the decent into the Vault begins, tensions raise.

Chapter 2

As I walked down the dirt path, Muffin came jogging up to my side.  
“Hey man, you got a smoke I can bum?” He asked, taking his helmet off and revealing his metallic, grey-camouflage Exo head. I didn’t say anything as I pulled out the cigarettes from my hip pouch, and held the pack open for him to take from. He grabbed one and lit it up.  
“You doin’ alright?” Muffin asked, looking concerned.  
“Yeah, I just can’t shake this feeling, it’s probably nothing…” I responded, trying my best to sound nonchalant. Muffin seemed to believe my act. We both walked in silence for a while, puffing on our cigarettes, while the others trailed behind us, either talking or arguing, I wasn’t paying much attention to them.  
After a few more minutes of walking in silence, I decided to strike up a conversation with Muffin.  
“Hey, how long you think this is gonna take?” I posed, “I should be fucking kicked back, enjoying a smoke and watching the damn clouds!”  
“You forgot the mud mask and foot rub, or was the spa day tomorrow?” He laughed, as he blew smoke out of his robotic mouth.  
“Next week, man. I made us both reservations!” I laughed right back, the conversation was calming my nerves. “I still don’t get why you smoke, seeing that you’re a fuckin’ robot, I mean what does that do for you?”  
“Just something to do with my hands, but I think the fuckers are messing with my damn circuits.”  
“I know they’re fucking with mine!” I said, as Elskin appeared at my side.  
“You really think smoking right now is a good idea? What if we have to run, how are you going to breath?” Elskin said, “Put the damned things out!”  
I turned to him and blew a plume of smoke straight into his face, which was also bared from his helmet, “Fuck off, if I die, I’m not going to have a nic fit while I do!” The three of us laughed together, when B-Dog shushed us.  
“Remember, we’re still in enemy territory, so shut the heck up!” He scolded. We quickly stopped laughing as we remembered just where we were, and stayed silent the rest of the walk.  
At the bottom of the hill, the trail turned to the right, and into caves that twisted and turned, bring us deeper and deeper into the Vault. As we descended, the air in the vault regained its humidity, but the temperature remained the same.   
After what felt like hours of walking, the cave opened into a giant cavern, and the path evened out. The platform we were now in extended about twenty feet, then dropped down into the depths of the Vault. Although we couldn't see the bottom, we knew it was a long drop from the thick cloud of green smoke that linger about one hundred feet below us.  
To our left was another path, which seemed to be the only way forward. We followed it down, waking for less than two minutes before we reached our first obstacle.  
Before us was a fifty foot drop, and after that was another, but this one was also had a fifty foot gap between the two platforms. The space between was so deep we couldn’t see the bottom, just darkness.  
Keeping in mind that enemies could appear at any moment, we continued as quietly as possible, no one uttering a single word. I activated my jump modifier when I was about a foot from impact, allowing me to land safely on the surface of the first platform.  
Mike was the first to take the jump to the second platform, activating his glide ability. He looked as though he was being carried, just moving forward effortlessly across the gap. I decided to go second, taking a sprinting start, and launched myself off of the edge. I allowed myself to fall twenty feet before using my first jump, which bridged the gap almost entirely, and the third allowed me to land on the platform.  
I didn’t look to see the others, I was looking for the next ledge, and noticed yet another platform, protruding from a hole in the cave wall. I took another running jump for it, crossing it with ease. From here I could see the path forward, platforms protruding from the cave wall, all leading down, to one final platform, and as I descended, I started to get that feeling of worry again.  
The final platform overlooked what I could only describe as a temple, surrounded by other floating platforms that were far out of our reach, the drop was twice that of the first, and there was a conflux already forming with Vex heading toward it, in the dozens.  
“Vex sacrificing to the conflux! Hurry and get your asses down here!” I yelled as I jumped down, drawing my hand cannon and opening fire on the advancing robots.  
Three were dead before I landed, and I managed to down two more before my clip emptied. Holstering my primary, I drew my shotgun and charged straight at the army of Vex. Just before I could reach the cluster, pulse rifle rounds whizzed past my head, taking down five of the Vex in less than a second.  
“I’ve got ya’ covered!” Muffin said into his radio.   
Knowing I had cover, I started to backpedal, replacing my shotgun on my back and reloading my hand cannon. More and more rounds were being shot from the platform above me, signaling my comrades were providing me cover.  
I seized this as an opportunity to add three special rounds to my clip. All three were highly explosive, with added penetrating power, more commonly called ‘Golden Gun’. The most one’s gun could handle firing in a row were three, so I took careful aim, and fired all three shots, each taking at least four Vex with them.  
Just then, two giant, purple orbs fell from above, exploding amongst the ranks of the Vex, each downing around a dozen, this was a warlock attack known as the ‘Void Bomb’. Shortly after the blasts the two warlocks, Mike and Muffin, descended, landing gently next to me. Muffin had his pulse rifle drawn, and mike his auto rifle.  
“Alright, y’all, lets fuck some shit up!” Muffin said, unloading into the crowd of Vex.  
“Check the body count, I’m at twenty-seven already!,” Chungus yelled in reply.  
As the others reached the platform and opened fire, the crowd thinned, especially with those of us on the ground dodging Vex bullets charging into the crowd, causing confusion amongst their ranks.  
Within minutes we were down to the last Vex, a Goblin, which Muffin opened fire on. I threw a knife, trying to steal the kill, and much to my surprise I succeeded.  
“Goddamn it! You kill stealing fuck! That was mine!” Muffin yelled as he picked up a Vex arm and threw it at me. I caught it, and threw it into the pit behind us.   
Just as the arm left my hand, there was a deep boom from behind me. Between two of the pillars a giant shielded Gatekeeper had appeared. Just as he did, musical dings sounded all around us. Looking around the source of the dings seemed to be glowing Vex squares that seemed to be made of some sort of streaming code.  
“So… Any ideas on what the fuck those are?” I asked as I ran to cover. Just as I made it behind a pillar, the Gatekeeper unleashed a barrage of explosives in my direction, spraying dirt and rock all around me.  
Suddenly, one of the musical squares exploded, leaving a bright, burning light that lasted nearly thirty seconds before disappearing altogether.   
“Whatever they are, they die, so shoot them!” B-Dog yelled as he unleashed two full sniper clips into two respective squares and killing them both, “There were six in the beginning, so theres four left, Muffin take the two in the back, Scalper back him up! Everyone else, focus on the two in the front!”  
I saw Muffin break from his cover, and ran to back him up, we to the path to the right, and at the far back we could see a doorway with Vex pouring out.  
“Tell you what, since I took that one from you, these guys are all yours!” I said jokingly, as I raised my hand cannon to assist in mowing down the onslaught.  
We crushed them in a matter of seconds, and proceeded around the corner where we made quick work of the two squares.  
“Oracles are down,” Muffin said.  
“What the hell are Oracles?” Chungus replied sounding genuinely confused.  
“They’re something from mythology or some shit, they sing or something,” Muffin replied sounding slightly condescending.  
“Dude, those are fucking Sirens, get your shit right!” I yelled, irritated that they were not taking the fight seriously, “B-dog, what's with the giant Gatekeeper? He still shielded?”  
“No, it just dropped, everyone, shoot him!” He replied, pulling out his specially modified rocket launcher he dubbed Truth.  
I pulled out my rocket launcher and sprinted back out to the front of the platform, sliding as I reached it. I fired immediately as the goliath came into view, following up with two more rockets, emptying the three round chamber. The others were firing as well, and when our barrage hit, the Gatekeeper was blown away into thousands of tiny pieces.  
B-dog, Chungus, and Elskin jumped down from the ledge to join Muffin mike and I as we examined the wreckage that was the Gatekeeper’s corpse. We found nothing we deemed useful, and as the others debated on where to go next, I was examining the area behind the recently deceased’s position with Muffin.  
“You recognize that,” He asked, pointing to the bronze colored circle, the usual look if Vex doors.  
“Yeah, that looks just like the door we came in, any ideas on how to open it?” I replied, pulling out yet another smoke, and offering one to Muffin. He accepted one and we both lit them up.  
“Well, I’d say we could try knocking, but I don’t think that would help in this situation. Maybe there’s another way down?” He replied, shrugging.  
Before I could respond, Chungus yelled “ Hey, everyone, I found the way forward!”  
Muffin and I walked to the sound of his voice, discussing whether or not he really found anything important. As we approached where we thought his voice had come from and looked around, not seeing him anywhere. The others arrived and seemed irritated, thinking it was just some stupid joke.  
“Hey, Chung-Fuck! Get the damn dick out of your mouth and quit fucking around, we need actual help!” Elskin yelled angrily, his voice echoing throughout the whole room.  
“Well, I guess Chungus will just keep this path to himself and let you walk around like a bunch of idiots!” Chungus said, popping his head out from a hole that was twenty feet up the pillar.  
“WHAT DID I FUCKING SAY ABOUT YOUR THIRD PERSON SHIT, YOU PEICE’A TRASH!” Elskin screamed, picking up and throwing a rock at Chungus.  
“Jeez, calm down, would ya!” B-Dog said, shooting Elskin a threatening look.  
“I didn’t do anything, it’s Chun-” Elsking started to retort before he was cut off by Mike, who was quite up to this point.  
“Just shut up, nerd.” He said indifferently, and used his modified jump to reach Chungus’ location.  
We all followed after Mike one-by-one, and once I was in, I looked around and saw Chungus standing toward the back of the room, four feet from the wall facing us.  
“This way,” He said as he suddenly jumped backward and disappeared from sight.  
“I hate that guy… So goddamn much..” I heard Elskin mutter as he followed suite.  
I let the others take the plunge before me, as I contemplated how easy things had been up to this point. It all almost seemed too easy, but before I could really dig into the thought, It was my turn to jump.  
The drop was only seven feet, so I felt no need to use my Triple Jump. My knees buckled to absorb the impact, and I was forced to roll forward to keep my balance. I made the mistake of coming out of my roll into a standing position, and bashed my head on the ceiling, and as I rubbed the top of my head and exercised my colourful vocabulary, the others ahead of me all laughed from their crouched positions.  
“Oh, just shut the fuck up and walk, you asswpies,” I said, head still smarting from the self-inflicted blow.   
“We can’ go any further, the tunnel ends where chungus is, and drops a pretty good distance,” Ben said, the pitch of his voice raising as he said “pretty good”.  
“I say we jump!” Elskin offered, looking to Chungus to take the leap.  
“You know what? How about you go first, huh? Didn’t think so!” Chungus said, glaring at Elskin. The two bickered for the next two minutes.  
During the bickerment, I looked to B-Dog, and nodded. He nodded back, and gave both Elskin and Chungus, who were first in our line, and almighty shove out the door with his burly Titan arms.   
We could hear their screams and unintelligible complaints at being the first to take the plunge, and just moments after their descent began, we heard the sound of crashing, and Elskin screaming in pain.  
“Oh, shit, did I just fucking kill him?” B-Dog asked, sounding a little worried.  
“YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!” Elskin yelled up from the depths, I still couldnt get close enough to look down, but it sounded as though he had fallen quite the distance.  
“Nope he’s fine,” B-Dog said, sounding satisfied, “I really wish he’d shut up though…”  
“Guys it’s fine, come on down!” Chungus yelled up to us, and single file we began our descent, with B-Dog going first, Mike second, Muffin third, and me in the final place.  
When I finally looked over the edge my heart felt as though it had lept into my throat, as the drop was well over five hundred feet, with Elskin dangling at about half of the distance, holding onto one of the many rocks that protruded from the the wall. Nonetheless, I leaned forward and began my freefall, using both of my modified jumps just before I landed to ensure that I would land gently.  
“You coming down anytime soon buddy?” Muffin yelled up at Elskin, laughing.  
“Or are you just going to hang around?” Mike added, causing the rest of us to laugh, despite the poor taste of the joke.  
“I think my Lift was damaged when I hit the wall, you fuck!” Elskin yelled down at B-Dog, as he began descending by hand.  
“Well, since that’s going to take him about a month to do,” B-Dog started, “Lets continue on,”  
“Do we have to? We could just tell the Speaker that all we found was a Gatekeeper, and Elskin died, on the way back out when we got ambushed.” Muffin said, sounding hopeful.  
“No, we keep pressing forward bolt-brain,” I said, and patted him on the shoulder.  
“God fucking damnit,” He sighed.  
Ben led the way down the dirt path we had landed on, but didn’t make it far before he stopped, looking down.  
“Well butts! There’s another drop, and this one is longer…” He said, in a slightly disappointed voice.  
Before anyone could weigh in, B-Dog jumped in followed shortly by the others, leaving Elskin hanging, as our descent into the Vault of Glass continued.

End Chapter 2


	3. Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What's the worst that could happen? They're just Harpies.

Chapter 3

The five us us took the plunge, using our modifications to cushion our landing. We landed in another system of tunnels, these so dark that we had to use our ghosts as lights. I lit a smoke as we continued on, leaving Elskin even further behind.  
“You guys think maybe we should wait for him?” I asked, already knowing the answer I would be given.  
“Nah, he’s a tough guy, besides, he shoulda jumped.” B-Dog replied, just before we heard a scream and a crash behind us.  
We all raised our weapons and started slowly back in the direction we had come. We made it twenty feet before we heard another scream and a crash, recognizing the scream as Elskin’s we broke into a run.  
We made it halfway back when we ran into him, his armor was dented in many places, and the face shield on his helmet was shattered. He was bleeding from somewhere on his scalp and it ran down into his eye, which was shut causing his face to scrunch up. I honestly couldn’t tell if he was dying or just pissed.  
Both our group and him came to a halt when we saw each other, staring for a brief second before Elskin walked up to B-Dog and punched him in the helmet, resulting only in him hurting his hand.  
“OW! FUCK, YOU GODDAMN SONS OF A BITCH! I FUCKING FELL THE WHOLE WAY, AND BROKE MY JUMP GEAR! MY ARMOR IS WRECKED!” He screamed, blood and spit flying from his mouth.   
“I think the fault here is probably yours,” B-Dog replied bluntly.  
“HOW- WHA- You fucking pushed me!” Elskin yelled, lowering his voice as he proceeded.  
“Well, you zigged when you shoulda zagged,” B-Dog replied causally, “Speaking of, did you fall the entire second jump?”  
“No,” Elskin sighed, “I jumped from ledge to ledge, and as you can see that didn’t quite work out!”  
“Really? How do ya’ tell?” Muffin asked.  
“I think it’s the dent in the knee,” Chungus replied.  
“I don’t see anything different,” Mike said, chuckling.  
“I think it might be the fucked up chestplate,” I said, feeling relieved that he was okay.  
“So, B, can we leave now?” Muffin asked, “I mean, he can’t go on, he’ll die!”  
“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but how do plan on getting out?” B-Dog replied.  
“Chugus says we go forward! He thinks there’ll be a way out!” Chungus yelled as he ran off, leaving us no choice but to follow.  
We walked in silence for a few minutes. I was thinking of what we could face next, and if it would be a simple as what we had faced before. Could this really be it, and if so, why would the speaker send out a six-man team? Was there worse waiting for us at the end of the tunnel?   
I really need to stop overthinking this, I thought to myself, as I turned a corner into a small cavern.  
On the far side there were three more caves, all leading different directions. Looking to my left and right I noticed two more openings, also taking different paths.  
“So what do we do now, oh fearless leader?” Muffin asked sarcastically.  
“I’m going to delegate this one to Chungus,” B-Dog replied.  
“This way! Follow the Chungus!” He exclaimed, sounding happy to have been given a responsibility.  
“If we die, it’s your fault,” I said, looking at B-Dog.  
“Eh, what’s the worst that could happen?” He countered nonchalantly.  
We followed Chungus through the middle cave on the far side of the cavern, a path that lead upwards. I could hear Muffin muttering, but couldn’t make out the words. I was lighting another cigarette, hoping to be done soon, and Mike was lagging behind.  
Soon enough we can to another larger cavern, in which we could hear a distant humming. Stalagmites and boulders were scattered densely around the area, along with what looked like half-destroyed walls.  
“I need to piss… God I hope I didn’t hit my kidneys, I don’t wanna pee blood…” Elskin trailed off as he walked behind one of the boulders.  
Seconds later we heard his terrified scream, and he came running from behind the rock, groin and rear exposed.  
“OH FUCK! OH SHIT! OH DAMN! NOT TODAY! RUN!” He yelled as he tore past us, back toward the caves.  
Muffin and I stared at one another as Ben peeked behind the rock, and with no explanation followed in Elskin’s example. Just then a Harpy came out from behind the rock, it was glowing bluish green. We followed didn’t even try to fight, we just went with the others, Mike and Chungus following shortly behind.  
We ran full sprint back to the cavern we had come from, and I cursed Elskin for being right about my smoking, I was totally out of breath by the time we reached it.  
Running in, I summoned my ghost, and yelled; “Get us the fuck out of here right goddamn now!”  
“You are too low, perhaps if you had parked our ship in low-” It started in a feminine voice, before I cut it off.  
“You bring the fucking ship lower! Get me the fuck out of here, and set course for the fucking tower!” Spittle covered my ghost as I yelled angrily.  
“They were just Harpies, what’s got you all bent outta shape?” Muffin asked, laughing with the others at my display of rage.  
“Listen here, you oversized trash compactor, I am fucking DONE with this SHIT! I don’t care what the speaker said! I’m going home, and drinking!”  
“Dude, quit pissin’ in me cheerios!” B-Dog said in a poor scottish accent, “I need you, since we’re down to five men now… Well, that is if you consider Elskin a man after seeing how small-”  
“Shut the fuck up, B! It caught me with my pants down!”  
“Literally!” Mike said, causing us to roar with laughter.  
“We should just report all of this to the Speaker, I’m done here too,” Muffin said as he summoned his Ghost.  
“Fine, but we say we left due to Elskin’s injuries, not that we were scared by one Harpy.” B-Dog ordered, just as a humming came from down the hallway.   
“Just give me a sec, I need to fix my pants…” Elskin said, still looking embarrassed from B-Dog’s earlier comment.  
A greenish blue glow illuminated the cave as the Harpy came into view, followed by three more.  
As soon as they sight their red eyes on us, they began to screech at a pitch so high we could barely hear it. The noise they made was painful to listen to, physically, we covered our ears with our hands, collapsing to our knees. I could feel a warm, sticky substance covering my palm as my vision started to fade. Just then out of nowhere it stopped, and the pain was gone.  
I looked up to see that Elskin had used one of his Titan abilities, a big blue bubble surrounded us, Keeping the sound at bay.  
“Guys, I can’t hold this for much longer! Tell the Ghosts to hurry!” He yelled.  
I didn’t bother to summon mine, I knew it was already hard at work, as did the others. Elskin had never summoned his, so when I started to dematerialize, I grabbed tight hold of Elskin, hoping my idea would work.  
I rematerialized in the cockpit of the Thirty-Eight, and since I was still clutching Elskin it was cramped, and his blood was all over the glass of the window, making the lower atmosphere of Venus appear to be crimson  
Looking I examined his head wound, which wasn’t producing enough blood to leave that big a stain. It was then that I noticed that he was unconscious, but breathing. Holding back panic, I looked for wounds on his torso, then arms. It was when I came to his legs that I found what I was searching for.  
His right leg was missing, from mid-thigh down, and bleeding profusely. It seemed that the spray from the artery was what caused the blood on my window, and that my grabbing him mid teleport was what caused his dismemberment.  
“Fuck guys, I got Elskin, but he’s bleeding bad! Half his goddamn leg is missing! I’m leaving, Ghost punch it!” I yelled into my ship’s radio.  
While we traveled at near light speed, I used my cloak to bandage the Elskin’s wound, working as quickly and carefully as I possible. I could hear his breathing getting shallower by the second.  
I summoned my Ghost as soon as I was done and ordered to send a message ahead of us, telling a medical team to be prepared to receive Elskin in the hangar, and take the ship straight down to them.  
We came out of travel speed in the Earth’s atmosphere, right above the tower. Within seconds we were docking, and I was opening the cockpit, lifting Elskin with me. Standing up, Elskin in my arms, I used my jump modifier to bring me over the fence near the shipwright where the medical team was gathered.  
When I landed they took Elskin off my hands, and rushed him away. I stood there, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, which should have been only seconds away.  
I started to rub the blood off of my armor, while I waited, but succeeding in only smearing it. Just as I gave up, Muffin’s voice came over the radio.  
“What the hell happened back there?” He asked, “I saw you grab him, then you said something about his leg missing? What the fuck did you do?!”  
“I fucking saved him! He never ordered his ghost to do anything, so I grabbed him while I was dematerializing! When we got to the cockpit, his leg was almost entirely gone, and blood was all over the window…” I responded, “I managed to staunch the bleeding, I just hope that was enough… Fuck!”  
“We’ll be down in a second, and we’ll all go to medical together,” B-dog cut in, “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”  
His confidence was outstanding, but I didn’t share it. I had that horrible feeling the whole time we were in the Vault… I thought he was going to die.  
I walked back to the tower watch, beating myself up the whole way, and waited for my team to appear. Once they did, we all ran off without a word to the medical center.  
When we arrived, the Speaker was already there, waiting to receive us.  
“Ah, gentlemen, I heard about the unfortunate turn of events that took place on your mission,” He said, sounding apologetic.  
At once, we all began bombarding him with different questions about our friend, and if he was okay.  
“Now, now, the boy is fine, but there is something far more serious I would like to talk to all of you about,”  
“What is it?” B-Dog asked, stepping closer.  
“The events that took place in the Vault of Glass can never be discussed with anyone. This is to remain silent, and if anyone asks, you all met up on routine missions and Elskin was injured there,” He replied, in a serious, nearly threatening tone of voice.  
“What! No, I’m not going to fucking do that that!” B-Dog exclaimed  
“Neither will Chungus!” Chungus chimed in.  
“Yeah, I’m with the others,” Muffin said.  
“Eh, I guess I’m with these guys,” I stated as I stepped forward next to B-Dog.  
“I’m with the nerds!” Mike agreed, crossing his arms.  
“I can assure you that, while I understand where you are coming from, you could find life in the Tower very difficult with those opinions,” The speaker said calmly, taking a step closer to B-Dog.  
B-dog raised his fist and pulled back, about to punch the speaker. Before he could I caught his arm, thankful for hunters having the speed advantage.  
“B, we’re gonna have to just go with it. At the least, just for now.” I whispered into his ear. He lowered his arm, clenching his fist even tighter.  
“Don’t you think this is over,” Muffin said as he took off his helmet to scowl at the speaker.  
“Well, it seems we have come to an agreement then. For this, I am glad.” the Speaker said happily as he walked away.  
“Goddamn that fucking asshole!,” Muffin yelled as he threw his helmet into the wall.  
“Chungus thinks that Speaker was mean!”  
“No, guys calm down, Scalper was right, we need to play by his rules. for now.” B-Dog said, taking off his helmet. “If we were to do anything, anything, at all against that dickmunch, the whole fucking tower would be all over us. So, let’s just go see how Elskin is doing, and keep calm.”  
“Fine, but when the time comes, I get to put the bullet in his brain,” Muffin growled.  
“Actually, I think I’m gonna go to the bar, or my quarters, I’ve already seen way more of Elskin than I ever wanted to, plus I’m kinda covered in him,” I stated, gesturing towards the blood covering my front.  
“Just tell him I hope he feels better, or that I’m an assholed and bailed or something. If he’s conscious that is,”  
I walked away before anyone could argue, trying to hide the anger the Speaker’s words had caused me. After quickly changing and washing the blood off of me in my quarters, I decided to to the tower watch and sit in the shade of the tree there to try to calm down.  
That fucking bastard! Why does it matter if people know what happened down there, or what the Vault of Glass is? I thought to myself, getting angrier by the second.  
After an hour I had to do something different, before I did something I might regret. I decided on going to the bar, on the lowest level of the hangar. It wasn’t a very popular place, so it would most likely be nearly empty at this time. When I got there I noticed Benny and Muffin sitting across from one another on the couches, Benny nursing what looked to be a scotch, Muffin smoking. There were three empty glasses in front of Benny.  
“I’ll take what he’s having,” I called out to the bartender, walking to my companions and lighting a cigarette.  
“Before you ask, he’s sleeping still… But that shit with the leg man, thats serious butts…” Benny said, speech slightly slurred from the alcohol.  
I shook my head at him, since he rarely drank, and continued to sit down on the couch next to him. I could hardly believe that all the events of the day had actually happened as I leaned my head back and blew smoke up into the air.  
The bartender arrived with my drink, which I downed immediately, ordering two more. I chuckled as I thought to myself; I’m gettin drunk tonight.

End Chapter 3


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
To avoid confusion, this chapter contains flashbacks, explaining how the team came to be, and from now on I will be marking flashback by ‘X’s in between real in story time and the memories.

Mike and Chungus showed up as we drank and smoked the night away, Elskin’s injury being on all of our minds. A few more patrons came in and out as the night progressed, and upon hearing of our friend’s condition bought us more and more drinks.  
The hours past, and by the time the sun was ready to come up, I had puked twice, and Chungus once. Muffin, being an Exo and unable to feel the effects of alcohol, was our caretaker. It was just like old times, before we were Guardians of the Light, before all of the fighting. All of those years ago...

X

I remember waking up, seeing the stars and being cold. Chilled to the bone. This is my first memory, cold that chilled me to the bone, and millions of glittering stars staring back down at me.  
“How do you fee1?” came a voice from beside me, turning my head I saw what I now know to be a Ghost.  
“What are you? Where am I? Who am I?” I asked, terror in my voice at the sounds I made. It made sense, but I couldn’t recall anything prior to being woken up.  
“Please, do not panic. I understand that this may be overwhelming, but you’ll just have to bare with me,” The Ghost responded.  
I sat up and looked around, it seemed I was in the middle of the road, with a building off to my left. There were mountains surrounding the area, and before those fields.  
I managed to get over my panic, pushing it down as I became more curious. I needed to know what was going on, so I decided to play it cool.  
“The Minions of the Darkness are strongest in the night, especially the Hive that have infested the area,” the Ghost turning it’s glowing eye towards the gas station, “Hmm, I never realized how cliche that sounds, although I would not expect you to understand that,” He chuckled.  
I looked over at the building realizing it to be a gas station, although not understanding how. I stood up slowly to walk over to it, my joints feeling stiff, and my head spinning as it gained altitude.   
The walk was short, and despite a few stumbles, my body seemed to know what it was doing. During the walk my mind raced, trying to remember anything, anything at all about itself, to no avail. I could see things around me and know what they were, but I couldn’t understand myself.  
I still felt lost and confused when we got to the door, unable to see due to the darkness, I just stood in the doorway. The Ghost began to glow, illuminating the room.  
“Quickly, to the back room before they see us,” the Ghost said as it started toward a door in the back. I followed, maneuvering over fallen shelves as best I could. The room was small and boxes littered the floor, I closed the door behind me, and sat down leaning my back against it.  
“So, please, explain to me what in the name of fuck is going on?” I demanded.  
“You have been chosen by the Light, to join the fight against the Darkness,” the Ghost replied, “I was sent out to bring you back to the Tower, a place where you will train to become a Guardian… It’s really too bad you cannot understand how cliche all of this sounds.”  
“Okay, but that doesn’t explain who I am, and why me? Or what the hell is going on! You’re just saying things that mean nothing to me, unless you mean you want me to fight the dark. Which by all means you seem to be doing fine yourself, what with that light and all,” I responded, and as I did I was overcome by an intense nauseating headache.  
With the headache came flashbacks. I could remember driving to work, and my mother. They continued for what felt like days, but in reality just a few seconds. Most were just normal memories, like driving, or being with friends, but some were far darker. Like the feeling of blood covering my hands, warm and sticky, and the way it smelled.  
“Are you okay?” the Ghost asked, floating closer to me.  
“Yeah, I was just… Remembering…” I said as I held my head, “Where are we? I think I know how I got here.”  
“I’m going to give you some advice; when we get to the Tower, don’t mention the memories. The speaker doesn’t like that. Also, we are in what was once Chile,” It replied, “Now all that is left in this area is the one of the few remaining Towers. That is where I am to take you.”  
I stared at the Ghost, thinking about what it was asking of me. I could remember what it was that led me out here now, what I had left behind, and even how I died. Coming to my decision, I looked away from the Ghost.  
“I’m not going anywhere. I left my life behind to come out here for a reason, I was running, and I don’t plan to stop now,” I said, looking at the floor.  
“You know, usually those who can remember want to help their fellow people,” the Ghost said, “What is it that makes you so different?”  
“Before you brought me back, or woke me up or whatever, I was on the run… I killed people…” I said quietly, “I can’t go back, not yet at least…”  
“Are you paying some kind of penance?”  
“No, well… It’s complicated…” I replied, “I just don’t care, I’ve died once now and it wasn’t so bad. Besides I like adventure, and this seems like the time to have one.”  
“I have been assigned to bring you back to the Tower, so I will stay with you until my task has been completed,” the Ghost stated.  
I didn’t reply after this, just continued staring at the floor, thinking of the life that I used to lead. Working in the office, spending my nights on the internet. Those few evenings at the bar flirting with the bartender. Then I killed them and everything changed. Once again, another story for another time.  
As I sat there I thought about what to do next, where to go, and with most of the world dead and destroyed the opportunities seemed endless, I could finally explore like I wanted to, or be killed by one of the many bloodthirsty aliens.  
“When the sun comes up, you’re going to help me find food, since you’re staying with me,”

X

“Hey, nerd,” Mike called, snapping me out of my flashback, “Stop being a party-pooper!”  
“The fucking sun is up! The party should be over!” I said back, just as Benny jumped on Muffin’s back and started yelling.  
“UNICORN POWERS ACTIVATE!” He yelled as he proceeded to slap Muffin on his posterior.  
“You fuck! You’re cut the hell off!” Muffin yelled, flipping Benny over his shoulder and onto his back.  
“But we must ride off into the sunset fine steed!”  
“Yeah Mikey, I’m definitely done here,” I said as I stumbled away, using the walls for support.  
I made my drunken way through the Tower and to my room, where I collapsed on the floor, and passed out immediately.  
I slept for nearly twelve hours, waking up when the sun was going down. I couldn’t remember most of the events of the previous night, but Elskin’s injury weighed on my mind. Then I remembered the Speaker’s words, logically thinking them over for the first time. Was there really any reason to hide this from us?  
I laid in bed pondering reasons for his secretive nature as my hangover went away, listening to the sounds of the Tower. Ships were coming and going, Guardians being called to various areas.  
When I felt good enough to walk, I went to see Elskin. The walk was nice, and the fresh air made me feel better. When I got there Chungus was just leaving, and I went out of my way to avoid him. Once he passed I continued to the desk and they directed me to his room.  
I made it to the door and paused, I felt so guilty. Why? I saved him, if I hadn’t He would have died down in the Vault. It was that damned Speaker’s fault   
for sending us down there. And for what? He never gave us any details, and we didn’t know what was down there.  
I shook off my feelings and entered, looking towards the bed, which was empty. I was confused until I saw Eliskin standing in front of me.  
“You’ll never guess what happened to me today,” He said with a smirk on his face. I looked down to his once missing leg, and saw a that he now had a robotic leg.  
“How. The. Fuck?!” I yelled, filled with excitement.  
“Well, after you almost killed me,” He responded, giving as close to a thanks as I was going to get, “I woke up here, and they had already closed up the wound. I guess Mike modified some robo-part he had laying around for me, and they attached it. That is before he went and got drunk with you.”  
“So, first off; I saved your damn life so, go fuck yourself. Second, That fast?! It’s been, like, thirty hours! How-The-Fuck!” I yelled, exasperated.  
“That’s what I said! But whatever! That’s the denial talking! I hate my life right now!” He said back in a half joking manner.  
He went on to describe more of how his time in the hospital was, and how he had the next few weeks off to get used to his new leg or something. I wasn’t really paying attention, I was just glad that things weren’t as bad as they seemed, but the Speaker’s secrecy was still bugging me. But that was something to worry about in the morning.  
I stayed and chatted with Elskin for a few hours, until the sun came back up, and I was called to see the Speaker. At this, we shared a look and left to see him. We Both complained about his mission to the Vault on the walk, reaching him last.  
“Gentlemen, I now that you seem to have recuperated, I believe that it is time to finish your mission. You’re going back to the Vault of Glass.”


End file.
